The Game for Natsumi's Heart
by Luriya
Summary: The bet was to win Natsumi's heart...but who the hell keeps foiling their plans? NaLu. AU. Genderbend.
1. Chapter 1

**The Game for Natsumi's Heart**

 _The bet was to win Natsumi's heart, but who the hell keeps foiling their plans?_

 _AU. NaLu. [One-sided Gratsu!Najeel!Sting x Natsu!]_

 **Disclaimer: Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail, I do not.  
**

* * *

"She's cool ain't she?" asked a dark haired boy called Gray, who fiddled with the buttons of his shirt. His two companions nodded their heads in agreement as three pairs of eyes followed the swift movements of a pinkette named Natsumi who was currently playing an intense game of football. All three of the young teenagers had made a goal to win the attention of Natsumi Dragneel, but the right opportunity never came. Boys have never been the most patient creatures and they knew they would have to sort this issue out soon.

"How about we make a bet?" A scruffy-looking, pierced guy suggested, folding his arms across his chest. The others perked at the idea, the blue-eyed blonde smirking slightly.

"I quite like that idea, Gajeel. The winner is the one who Natsumi chooses to date." Gray shrugged, now randomly topless, which was nothing new.  
"Easy as pie. I'll win easily - no one can resist my cool charms." Gajeel snorted.  
"Don't get too cocky, Fullbuster."  
"Yeah Gray. After all, I don't want any hard feelings when I crush your ego when _I_ win the bet."  
"Like, no offence Sting, but I doubt she digs blondes."  
"I AM THE GREAT STING EUCLIFFE! No underling like you can outshine my brilliance!"

This of course, started an argument between the trio, and the game for Natsumi's heart had begun.

Little did they know, someone had overheard their conversation and a small smile appeared on their lips.

 _|The Game for Natsumi's Heart|_

"Hey there Natsumi," Gray casually sauntered up to the pinkette during free period, a slushie in his hand, "it's pretty hot today, do you want this?" Natsumi scrunched up her nose and shook her head vehemently.

"No, I don't like cold things." Gray stood their awkwardly for a moment, before walking away, utterly confused. He was sure the mysterious note in his locker said that Natsumi loved icy drinks like slushies. Surely he hadn't been set up by his own friends - they wouldn't stoop that low, would they?

Meanwhile, Natsumi felt a tap on her shoulder and she turned to meet friendly, chocolate brown eyes.

"Here, I have an extra Firestick, you can have it if want." Her charcoal eyes brightened and she accepted the spicy-goodness gratefully, a wide grin on her face.  
"Thanks!"

 _|The Game for Natsumi's Heart|_

Natsumi skidded on the floor, the hard impact shredding the skin on her knees and hands. She whipped her head round to glare at the bastard that dared trip her, eyes flashing dangerously as the temperature around her drastically rose. Gajeel witnessed this and decided to try his luck at being her knight in shining armour.

"Oi, Salamander," Gajeel wasn't very good at talking nicely to girls and called Natsumi by her nickname, "I'll take you to the Nurse's office." He extended a hand and just as she was about to take it, a stray, flying football crashed into the side of his head, which pissed Gajeel off greatly.

"WHO FUCKING KICKED THAT?!" He roared. Many momentarily froze before scattering, no one actually owning up so Gajeel decided to chase after the most guilty looking one, leaving Natsumi by herself. The star athlete felt a presence beside her and saw the same boy from before, rummaging through his bag and bringing out a mini medical kit.

"You scraped your hands and knees pretty bad." The chocolate-eyed boy disinfected her cuts and layered her scraped knees in plasters before bandaging her hands. Then, he randomly stuck an unneeded plaster to her cheek which caused Natsumi to tilt her head in confusion.  
"I don't have a cut on my face." The boy smiled.  
"I know. I just think it looks cute."

 _|The Game for Natsumi's Heart|_

The teenaged girl wiped the sweat off of her forehead, her cheeks slightly flushed from the continuous exercise, and she sat down on a bench to cool down. Thoughts of _that_ guy passed through her mind and her flushed face seemed to rosy more in colour. She spotted the vending machine in the corner and decided that a refreshing bottle of water would be good right now and fished through her pockets for change, but she could not even find a measly one pence.

"Hey Natsumi~" Said pinkette looked up, hoping it was _him_ and did her best to hide her disappointment when it wasn't. Sting leaned against the wall, some change in hand. "You must be pretty thirsty right? I'll buy you a drink." She was about to protest but the arrogant blonde had already sauntered over to machine and tried to insert 50p. He stopped and frowned, brows knitting together.

"What the hell, someone's jammed the coin slot." He peered into the slot and upon closing inspection he could see that someone had deliberately stuffed some chewing gum down there. Sting raked his hand through his hair in frustration and turned to the girl who had now walked over to him.  
"Wait here, I'll go to a different one." The captain for the boy's football team raced round the corner to find the next vending machine whilst Natsumi was wondering why she was getting so much attention from guys recently. With a mutter under her breath she turned her head only to be whacked in the face with a bottle of water.

"Oops, sorry." A familiar voice called. Natsumi looked up at that chocolate-eyed boy. She never realized it until now, but he always seemed to be there when she was in need of help. She had to admit, it was a pretty good quality of his. Natsumi grinned.

"Nah, it's alright. Just pass me the water before I die of dehydration." With a soft chuckle, the boy passed her the bottle which she gulped down greedily.

"Thanks for the water! I feel like we should hang out more often." He smiled a bright smile. Natsumi really liked that smile.

"Sure."

 _|The Game for Natsumi's Heart|_

Natsumi slumped over her desk, her stomach demonstrating the sounds of a dying whale.  
"Uggghhh...I'm sooo hungryyy..." she whined, cursing herself for forgetting her lunch and having no money (again) to buy food from the cafeteria. Gray inwardly grinned at his new opportunity and slid into the empty seat next to her as everyone left the classroom to go to the dining hall.

"Hey Natsumi, I packed a lot of food today so there should be enough to share, if you'd like?" She straightened up in her seat and stared at him with hopeful eyes. With an unseen, satisfied smirk he opened his lunch box to find...nothing. It was empty. HOW WAS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?! He specifically remembered packing his lunch that morning. Natsumi stared at the emptiness of his lunch box with a depressed look and Gray jumped up from his seat.  
"H-hang on...I'll get something from the cafeteria." He dashed off, hoping that the queue wouldn't be too long.

As soon as Gray disappeared from view, the classroom door opened, revealing Natsumi's new best friend.  
"Oh, you're still here Natsumi?" He asked, walking over to her desk.  
"Yeah...I forgot my lunch," she sighed, "anyway, what are you here for?"  
"I normally eat in the classroom, the cafeteria is too noisy." He took the seat beside her and opened his lunch box which was jam-packed with food, at which Natsumi's eyes widened in disbelief.  
"Woah...surely you don't eat that much? Where'd you get all the extra stuff from?" He fidgeted nervously, not looking her in the eye.  
"I, uh, well..." The chocolate eyed boy was interrupted by a growl of Natsumi's stomach.  
"Never mind that, just eat before your stomach caves in." Natsumi decided to let the matter go and ravaged the food, mumbling her thanks.

 _|The Game for Natsumi's Heart|_

Natsumi's stomach heaved as she slouched in her seat, face pressed against the window as the scenery blurred past. She hated school trips. They caused her to suffer so much and all because of her ridiculous, severe motion sickness. She gagged as the coach hit a bump in road, clutching her stomach, her face sweating and sickly. Gajeel, who had somehow managed to become her seat partner, watched her with understanding - he too had motion sickness but thanks to his travelling tablets he was able to overcome it.

"Salamander, I have some tablets if you want 'em." She didn't answer, in fear of throwing up, but the look in her eyes were pleading. Gajeel reached down to look through his bag which lay at his feet, searching for the blessing that had been bestowed upon him by the local chemists. He would have to take another anyway as he could already feel the medicine wearing off.

...

Gajeel began panicking. Where were they? He frantically searched through the contents of his bag, the familiar feeling of nausea creeping up on him. No..no...NO! The studded man clamped a hand over hid mouth as he grabbed his last resort - a sick bag - and threw up the contents of his stomach. Gajeel had to practically crawl over to the spare seat next to the teacher's when they beckoned him. He saw in the corner of his eye someone sliding into the seat next to Natsumi and allowing her to lay her head on their lap, stroking her hair, but his blurred vision could not pin an identity to the person.

"Here, lay on my lap Natsumi." Natsumi readily complied, slouching down onto her best friend's lap, inhaling his fresh, pine scent. Through her sleepy state, Natsumi relaxed when she felt his fingers comb her hair and he massaged her scalp which eased her headache. She softly smiled, trying to ignore the fact her heart was racing wildly...most likely because she was sick, right?

 _|The Game for Natsumi's Heart|_

"Happy! Come down from there!" Natsumi called up a towering white oak tree at a silvery-blue cat, gripping onto a branch for it's dear life. Happy the Blue Russian cat mewed down at his owner, his dark eyes dilated with fear. Natsumi grumbled to herself as she jumped in attempt to grab the lowest branch, which was still to high for her. Happy was her beloved kitty who loved to climb trees, honestly the way he climbed so quickly made it seem as if he were flying. Happy never had a problem with getting back down though, which is why she wasn't too concerned when she saw him up the tree, but she now realised that he couldn't get down and she was too short to grab onto the lowest branch. Great. What was she supposed to do now?

Sting had been strolling through the park, hands in pockets, trying to think up of new ways to win Natsumi's heart as well as the latest love confession from a girl named Yukino. He'd acted nice of course but he wasn't really interested as he was dead-set on the bet with Gray and Gajeel. So, Sting had been lost in his thoughts when he heard a stream of curses and desperate grunts which made him turn his head to see Natsumi, trying to grab a tree branch. Curious, Sting strolled over.

"Yo Natsumi," he greeted. She looked at him, opened her mouth to say something but then a small mewl came from above them. He craned his neck to see a fuzz ball of a cat clinging to a branch. "Are you trying to rescue him?" The blonde asked.

"Yeah, but I'm not tall enough to climb onto the first branch." Her forehead was creased with worry, her deep, charcoal eyes the reflection of her concern. Sting flexed his muscles, puffing up his chest.

"No need to fear, milady. I, Sting Eucliffe shall rescue that cat." Sting easily pulled himself up onto the first branch and teetered slightly as he stood up. _Woah...why does it look so high from up here?_ he wondered as he hugged the tree and tried to wrap his leg around to reach the next arm of the tree. However he lost his grip and fell, the bushes beneath barely cushioning his fall. Sting groaned, seeing stars. He slowly sat up, rubbing the back of his head and looked at the pinkette who was openly laughing at him. Sting felt his cheeks burn in embarrassment.

"Uh...you know what, I'll go and get a ladder. That'll probably be best. Wait here for a few minutes, 'kay?" He took off, desperate to impress Natsumi.

"Hey Natsumi, what's up?" Said girl nearly jumped when she heard _his_ voice.  
"Oh hi, I'm just waiting for Sting to come back with a ladder because Happy is stuck up the tree." He looked up at the tree with a pondering gaze, before handing the leash of his Bichon Frise to Natsumi. Effortlessly he overcame the first obstacle and carefully edged his way round to reach up and hold onto the second branch, pulling himself up. He continued his climb up the tree with ease and agility, until he finally reached Happy and coaxed the cat to let go of the branch and come into his arms. Then like Tarzan he swung through the branches and landed on his feet when he reached the ground, taking the dog leash from Natsumi and placing her beloved kitty in her outstretched arms.

The pinkette grinned, feeling a flutter in her heart, snuggling into Happy's silvery-blue fur.

 _'I wonder how many times I'm going to have to thank you.'_

 _|The Game for Natsumi's Heart|_

"Natsumi!"  
"Salamander!"  
"Natsumi~"

Said girl glanced behind her to see Gray, Sting and Gajeel march up to her. They shifted awkward glances to one another before Gray nodded, took a deep breath and began talking.

"Natsumi, we've all been trying to win your feelings for quite a while now..." The dark-haired boy trailed off which allowed Sting to butt in.

"Just tell us who you chose!"

"Who do you like better, Salamander? Me, the stripper or the egoistical prick?" Gajeel's friends protested about the labels Gajeel gave them. Natsumi swept a dark, bored gaze over them and as she walked away, the pinkette answered,

"None of you."

 _|The Game for Natsumi's Heart|_

Not long after that, the star athlete walked hand in hand with her new boyfriend, Luca Heartfilia. They become the couple everyone wanted to be so the trio couldn't help but look on with sour thoughts.

"Can you believe it? She's going out with the pretty boy." Gray muttered.

"Didn't see that one coming." Sting agreed.

"Gihi," Gajeel chuckled with his creepy laugh, "I knew it all along."

"Huh?" They turned to look at him with confused expressions.

"I guess you guys are too slow. You never realised that there was another competitor on the playing field?" Two pairs of eyes began to widen in realisation.  
"We probably had no chance, the Prince is way too smart. At first I totally thought he was a wet towel but I like that mastermind of his."

Everything pieced together. Sting and Gray face-palmed hard, gritting their teeth.

"GOD DAMMNIT!"

 _|The Game for Natsumi's Heart|_

"Hey Luca, I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before but before you and I started dating there were these three guys acting really weird," Natsumi mentioned one evening as she and her boyfriend cozied up on his apartment sofa, watching a movie. A grin made it's way onto Luca's lips as he turned to look at the pinkette with an unusual mischievous smile.

"I know." Natsumi tilted her head questioningly. The blonde couldn't help but laugh at the memory.  
"Well...let's just say I had something to do with their failures." Everything came back vividly as if it had happened just yesterday. Luca had just been walking around minding his own business when he overheard three guys talking about Natsumi Dragneel which he immediately disliked as he had been keeping an eye on that girl for quite a while now. Once he had eavesdropped on their plans Luca immediately set out to sabotage them. _Luca_ was the one that planted that note in Gray's locker. _Luca_ was the one that kicked the ball at Gajeel (with his trademark "LUCA KICK!"). _Luca_ was the one that messed with the vending machine. _Luca_ was the one that stole Gray's lunch. It turned out that Happy was very compliant when offered fish and _Luca_ was the one that might of _accidentally_ taken the travel sickness tablets out of Gajeel's bag. Every failure had been planned by the (slightly evil) genius known as Luca Heartfilia, the Prince of Fairy Academy.

"So I was right! You just pretend to be all innocent n' stuff but really you get all jealous and go all crazy-villain mode, don't you? I guess that makes sense since you're such a weirdo Luca." Luca smiled, not even caring at that moment about being called weird and ruffled up his girlfriend/best friend's hair playfully.

"Since I'm the prince and the villain does that make you the princess then?" He asked, despite knowing what Natsumi's answer would be. She grinned that sharp-canined grin.

"Hell nah, I'm the dragon!"

* * *

 **Well then, as you can see this is not my best work but I remember being bored, one rainy day (as it usually is in the UK) and I suddenly really felt like doing a genderbend with some sort of competition for Natsumi's heart. And this is what my muse chucked out.  
Again as you can see, I failed pretty bad at keeping them all in character but it's an AU so I think it's okay-ish.  
So yeah, I didn't really put a 100% effort into this one-shot BUT I'm quite interested in the idea of turning this into a two-shot, the second chapter being all in Luca's perspective.**

 **So, if you guys liked this story, feel free to tell me which scenario (or is it scene?) that you liked best :D**

 **Mata aimasho!  
** ` **Lottie-Blue**

 ***! SPOILER FOR CHAPTER 444 !* -ish**

 **OMFG! I did not see that coming! O.O *mindblown* But if you've read Fairy Tail Zero, I guess it'd make sense why Zeref could possibly want the Lumen Histoire.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**The Game for Natsumi's Heart  
Luca's POV**

 _Well, the title itself is pretty self explanatory.  
 **Note: Italics used is Luca's thoughts. Probably should've made it more clearer about that.  
**  
_

"Ohmygosh it's Prince Luca!"  
"My heart feels like it's going to burst!"  
"I swear our eyes just met!"  
"Prince Luca! Please go out with me!"  
"Don't be ridiculous Mei, Prince Luca can't go out with anyone. Us girls have formed an alliance so we can all share him. The Prince is everyone's."  
"We, the Prince Luca Fan Club, will protect him so that not even a single golden hair on his head is harmed."  
"WHOOOO WE LOVE YOU PRINCE LUCA!"

The entire female population of Fairy Academy were besotted with a boy named Luca Heartfilia, dubbing him as Prince. That said person gently smiled at the cluster of girls that had created a path for him at the entrance of the school, which only made them scream and cheer louder. Luca wasn't really sure how he became so popular. Sure, he had been awarded the Dux title and was the heir of the Heartfilia Konzern but how it became this escalated was something that Luca questioned himself daily. However, the fame slightly troubled him. He had wanted to lead a quiet school life, away from his position in the upper-class that he genuinely detested. Luca inwardly sighed. No matter how good it might seem, having women throw themselves at him constantly was beginning to wear him down.

A flash of pink crossed his line of sight. Oh it was her. The only girl who spread a warm, jittery feeling inside his chest. The one girl he had never spoken to. Although Luca was confident, he was inexperienced in the field of love which made him shy to approach her – Natsumi Dragneel. She was a straightforward, reckless and carefree shining athlete with a huge amount of talent in anything to do with sports (though not much can be said about her academic abilities). Other than her athleticism and her fiery personality, what really stood out to Luca was that she never looked his way unlike the other girls. She wasn't caught up in the swarm of fangirls that practically watched his every move. He liked that about her. He stared longingly as her shoulder-length, spiky pink hair disappeared into the crowd. Even though he could only watch her from afar, he would do his best to protect her, just like a prince would do for his princess.

It seemed that the time to protect Natsumi would come sooner than Luca thought. It was break and he had just managed to escape from the watchful eyes of his fan club and was hiding behind a tree near the wall which marked the boundaries of the academy. Just as he was relishing in the peace and quiet, three vulgar imbeciles decided to ruin it for him. Just as Luca was about to make his presence known, a comment made him stop.

"She's cool ain't she?"

 _Who could they possibly be talking about?_ The blonde prince peered round the thick trunk of the tree and took note of the identities of the three people. Gray Fullbuster, Gajeel Redfox and Sting Eucliffe. He watched as their eyes followed the movement of _…no…it can't be…surely not…why are they interested in Natsumi?_ A sense of disbelief washed over Luca, feeling threatened by the possibility of rivals. _It's okay, calm down Luca. I need to continue to listen to find out what they're up to. I promised that I'd protect her._ The Prince proceeded with his eavesdropping. Gajeel had offered a bet and then Gray said something about the winner being whoever Natsumi chooses to date. Luca scoffed. As if his Natsumi would choose one of them.

"I doubt she digs blondes." Luca winced at Gray's comment, almost spiralling into despair at the thought of Natsumi not liking blondes, but then reminded himself that his Natsumi wasn't the type of person to judge a person by their appearance. An ingenious idea formed inside the Prince's mind and a small smile appeared from how easy it would be to eliminate his rivals.

Thus, the plan to win over Natsumi was put into action.

Luca knew a lot about Natsumi Dragneel and he was going to use it to his advantage, to attack his first target: Gray Fullbuster. His intuition told him that Fullbuster was most likely going to be the first to make a move and that Luca would have to deal with it quickly. Natsumi was most definitely a summer girl who loved the heat and had a spicy palate to match. So of course, what would be one of her most hated things? The cold. And if his research is accurate (which it always is) Gray Fullbuster was the complete opposite. _Pfft, I've already found a flaw in my rival. They are polar opposites; they'd never be able to get along._ Luca unfortunately had to sacrifice a page of his beloved journal and wasted the remaining ink in his favourite pen to write an anonymous note to Gray. But Luca didn't mind too much, after all he'd do anything for his princess.

Fairy Academy's most prized pupil was currently lurking in the corridor near Natsumi's classroom during free period, knowing that she liked to sleep and eat during this time. He spied on Gray's interaction with Natsumi and could barely keep himself from smirking in triumph. After Gray had offered the pinkette the icy beverage (and so obviously rejected) he had hurried out of the room, head down in pure shame and embarrassment. This is where Luca would step in. He casually walked in, not minding the stares, and gently tapped Natsumi on the shoulder. She turned to face him, her dark eyes staring into his own and Luca fought hard to keep himself from turning into a beetroot. He brandished an extra spicy pepperoni stick known as a Firestick and offered it to her. His heart was pounding when her whole face lit up like a Christmas tree and gratefully accepted it with a simple word of thanks.

A few days later, it was morning break and Prince Luca was relaxing on a bench outside, basking in the gentle sunlight… surrounded by his fan club whom were diligently keeping an eye out for anyone that would pose a threat to their precious Luca. He observed the grounds, searching for one person in particular. _Ah, found her._ His eyes widened when he saw Natsumi fall to the tarmac floor, obviously scraping her skin on the unforgiving texture. He could practically see the flames of anger emanating from her. Luca watched as an intimidating, evil overlord dared approach his princess. Gajeel even offered his giant, callous hand to her. To anyone else on the ground this was a perfectly normal thing to do, however through Luca's eyes it looked like the evil overlord was about to crush his delicate princess and as a noble prince, there was no way Luca could let that happen. Quickly excusing himself from his enthusiasts, Luca performed his special attack on a stray football:

"LUCA KICK!"

With an impressive amount of power, the ball rocketed off Gajeel's head with scarily accurate precision. Luca hurried back to his bench before he was targeted by Gajeel and then asked a girl named Chelia if she had a medical kit. Luckily she did and offered it to the shining prince, stammering and blushing, which Luca gratefully accepted, shoving it into his bag, before rushing off to his princess's aid.

Although he felt intoxicated by her exotic, cinnamon-y scent Luca managed to disinfect her cuts and apply plasters to her knees without making a blunder. He swallowed.

 _God,_ he was such a mess when it came to Natsumi.

After bandaging her warm, small hands he studied Natsumi's face as she was staring intently at him as he worked, before deciding to do something a bit weird. Luca stuck a cutesy plaster with a blue cat on her cheek, which made Natsumi tilt her head in confusion.

 _Doki._

 _Gahh…sooo cuuuuttteeee_ Luca's inner fanboy was internally screaming at him.

"I don't have a cut on my face." Luca couldn't help but smile.  
"I know. I just think it looks cute."

A few days passed, and the Prince was undercover. He inconspicuously sat on a table in a cove of books with a pair of glasses and a blue cap wedged onto his head which did nothing to hide his magnetic charm. He was reading his favourite manga called Fairy Tail (it's one of Luca's deepest secrets) when he heard the chair opposite him scrape back, and looked up to see Levy McGarden sit down. Levy and Luca had been best friends since childhood and they could trust each other with everything. Luca smiled brightly.

"Levy! Thanks for coming." The petite, bluenette returned the smile.  
"No problem, Lu. Anyways, I've got the information that you wanted." Levy pulled out a file from her bag and gave it to Luca, who quickly scanned the contents, trying to memorise it. Once read, Luca looked up and gave his best friend a curious look.

"How do you find out this stuff anyway, Levy?" A sly smirk graced her features and she gave a nonchalant shrug.  
"An information broker never reveals her secrets." She replied, before dropping her cool demeanour, a pink blush spreading across her cheeks which was a stark contrast to her pale skin. Levy twiddled her thumbs, not meeting Luca's eyes.  
"S-so now that I've got you information about Natsumi…c-can you h-help me w-with Gajeel?" She shyly stuttered. Oh right, yeah, Luca's best friend was in love with the Evil Overlord. It was quite funny to be honest. A tiny bookworm and a hulky, heavily pierced wannabe singer. One of the contestants in the game for Natsumi's heart. Luca felt a fiery determination rise within him as he clasped Levy's small hands staring at her with deep sincerity.

"Trust me, Levy. I will do everything in my power to get him to look your way."

Ten minutes before Natsumi's football training finished, Luca went wandering around the school, chewing gum. Messing with the vending machines was the next step of his plan. Luca calculated that after all that exercise, Natsumi would be thirsty and would most likely stop at the nearest vending machine. Sting would almost certainly use this opportunity to buy her a drink, as his training would also finish at the same time. Through Luca's point of view, the Slimy Fool would be trying to charm the princess with his self-proclaimed suave and win her over by doing this heroic deed. The Prince refused to allow it. This was a perfectly acceptable reason to defile school property. Luca rammed his chewing gum into the coin slot and now he would lie in wait for the perfect time to appear.

Ugh, the Slimy Fool was here. Luca could barely contain himself as the captain of the boys' football team called his princess's name in that overly-sweet tone of his. _Ah, you have no right to be jealous Luca. She isn't your girlfriend_ , said the voice of reason in his head. Luca ignored it. He has a devious smirk on his face as Sting failed to insert the coin into the slot. Luca watched as Sting excused himself to look for another vending machine and almost gleefully cried out as his plan worked. Now was his cue.

Luca took out a refreshing, ice-cold bottle of water from his bag and held it out, about to say something when his princess turned her head getting hit in the face with the bottle. Luca's heart dropped and immediately rushed out a sorry, hoping she wasn't angry at him. He would get down on his hands and knees to beg for forgiveness if he had to. But of course, Natsumi was an easy-going person and she simply grinned.

"Nah, it's alright. Just pass me the water bottle before I die of dehydration."

Luca couldn't help but chuckle as he gave it to her. He watched as Natsumi greedily gulped the water down, a single drop escaping and running past her chin and down to her glistening throat. Woah. Hold up. _Come on Luca. What are you thinking? I was raised better than this. I'm not a bloody creep like the Evil Overlord, the Perverted Knight or the Slimy Fool._ During Luca's struggle with himself, he almost missed what Natsumi was saying, only catching the,

"We should hang out more often."

Luca's heart felt like it was going to explode. His smile was dazzling and bright, as if light itself. Clearly the smile of a boy in love.

"Sure."

Prince Luca just happened to be walking past his rivals as he overheard the Perverted Knight (also known as Gray) speak.  
"I'm gonna win her over by giving her food."  
"Heh, not bad Fullbuster. Of course not as good as my plans but still good," commented Sting. Luca frowned as he carried on his way. He had not predicted this. How could he foil that pervert's pan? Luckily for Luca, the opportunity appeared in his Science class which he shared with Gray.

"Mr Fullbuster! Where is your shirt?" Miss Laki Olietta was not pleased. Gray looked down at his bare chest, surprised.

"I don't know Miss, I swear! I just had it on a minute ago." Laki pinched the bridge of her nose and gave a heavy sigh.  
"Fullbuster, go to lost and found and get a new shirt."  
"A-Aye ma'am." Gray hurried out of the room, leaving his bag behind. This was Luca's chance! Luca raised his hand.

"Excuse me, Miss Olietta, it appears that Gray has left his bag which I know he keeps spare clothes in. Would you mind if I go and give it to him?" The Prince mustered his best teacher's pet smile which Laki immediately melted at.

"Why of course, Luca." He nodded his head in thanks, took Gray's bag as well as his own and went out. Leaning against the wall, he emptied the food from Gray's bag into his own just in time as Gray rounded the corner.

"Oh it's just you." Luca really wasn't surprised that the Perverted Knight knew of him. With great difficulty, he prevented himself from giving Gray a dirty look and simply handed him the bag.  
"Miss Olietta wanted me to give you your bag."  
"Um…okay…" Gray was tugging at the hem of the new shirt, but he didn't seem to be aware of it. Luca shrugged and walked back into class, Gray following behind. _Hmph, it's like taking sweets from a child. Way too easy._

During lunch, Luca was making his way to Natsumi's class, where he knew she would be, and saw how Gray rushed out and practically sprinted to the dining hall. It worked. Well of course it did, he's Luca Heartfilia after all. He opened the mostly empty classroom, thankful that there were no fangirls loitering around, and saw his princess slumped over her desk.  
"Oh, you're still here Natsumi?" Ever since their 'coincidental' run-ins, they'd grown closer and Natsumi had even called him her best friend, which made Luca quite pleased but it still wasn't enough. He was aiming for something more. Natsumi explained how she had forgotten her lunch and Luca took this chance to share the food with her. However, her question about why he had so much food momentarily caught him off guard but fortunately Luca was saved by the growling of his princess's stomach. He watched with an adoring smile as she ravaged the food, despite the fact that the food was flying everywhere. She was perfect in Luca's eyes. Well almost.

Fairy Academy's Prince was not happy. Not happy at all. Somehow, that sly, conniving Evil Overlord got picked to sit next to his Natsumi for the coach ride on the class trip. It was a random draw of course, but Luca still couldn't help but feel that Gajeel was to blame. He excused himself from the girls and walked towards the beautiful gardens that were always kept neat and tidy. Once there, he saw a small girl watering the flowers. The name Wendy Marvell popped into his head…Marvell…oh that's right. The Evil Overlord's cousin. Luca wondered how such a Fair Maiden could be related to the guy. Ah. It was time to do some information scavenging of his own. The Prince walked over to Wendy, completely unnoticed until he said, "Oh wow! The flowers are beautiful Wendy. Good job!" The girl jumped, startled by his presence, flushing bright red as she had always been shy and nervous.

"O-oh no…it's not me. I-I just w-water them." Luca smiled.  
"No need to be modest, Wendy. Everyone knows how hard you work on these gardens with the help of the groundskeeper. Anyway, my name's Luca, I'm a friend of Gajeel. Have you heard about the trip that our classes are going on?" Wendy beamed at the compliment.  
"Everyone knows who you are, Mr Luca," she said politely, "and I'm glad that your friends with my cousin. He's not very good at being nice to people. And yes, I have heard about it. I'm quite worried about Gajeel." Luca tilted his head.  
"How come?"  
"A-ah, it's because Gajeel has severe motion sickness, but I'll make sure that he puts some instant relief tablets in his bag on the day."  
Ohohoho. This was good news. Very good news.  
"You're really caring Wendy. I must go now, but keep up the good work with the flowers!" Luca cheerfully waved before departing, not noticing jealous daggers being stared into the back of his head by a boy called Romeo.

On the day of the trip, Luca noticed Gajeel's bag unguarded and quickly rummaged through, taking the tablets out. He knew it was a bit mean of him, but this way he'd get to stay close to Natsumi and he wouldn't have to worry about the Evil Overlord tainting her innocence. Finally, the time to see if his (kind of evil) plan would work. Luca snagged the seats behind Gajeel and Natsumi, and listened to his poor princess's groans and heard Gajeel offer some tablets. The Prince heard frantic searching, a crumpling of a bag, throwing up and heavy footsteps as Gajeel somehow managed to drag himself to the teacher's side. Everything worked out perfectly. Ignoring his guilt, Luca slid into Gajeel's seat and brought Natsumi's head down to lay on his lap which she easily complied to. He ran his fingers through her pink hair, which was much silkier than it looked. She muttered something undecipherable as she finally relaxed, feeling soothed. Luca was pleased with the progress he made with his relationship with his princess. He was so pleased in fact, that he didn't mind when Natsumi threw up on his trainers.

Prince Luca was in a good mood. Until his History class. The teacher had given them textbooks to take notes so they could complete the worksheet. And by a stroke of misfortune he had to pair up with Gajeel.

"Hey Bunny Boy, lend me your notebook." The Evil Overlord asked gruffly. Well, he didn't really ask as he swiped it off the desk anyway and begun to flick through the pages. Luca spluttered, completely bewildered.  
"Bunny Boy?!" Gajeel looked up.  
"Yeah, you look like a scared, lil' bunny." Irritated, Luca glared at him and tried to reclaim his notebook only for his efforts to be in vain as Gajeel simply lifted the notebook higher.  
"Eh?" Gajeel's tone made Luca stop.  
"What's wrong?" He then noticed the notebook. Oh shit. It was _that_ notebook. Luca frantically tried to grab it back as a large sharp-toothed, smirk spread on Gajeel's face, a glint in his red eyes.  
"Gihihi. The Salamander, eh?" Luca felt his face flush. Gajeel brought his large hand down and Luca flinched but was surprised to find that it was only to roughly muss up his hair. It was like Gajeel was teasing a puppy. Then a dawn of understanding appeared and Gajeel stared at Luca hard.  
"It was you, wasn't it?" There was no point in lying. Gajeel would see through it anyway. Luca was nervous but refused to let it show.  
"And if it was?" They were in the corner of the classroom, out of everyone's line of sight, so no one could stop Gajeel from lifting Luca off his feet from the front of his shirt.  
"You kicked a ball at me. I was _sick_ because of you." Gajeel's red eyes were piercing into Luca's own, but he felt quite calm as he met his gaze evenly.  
"I'm sorry for that, but I had to. I have to protect her at any cost." Gajeel was quiet for a moment, but then raised his other fist.  
"Alright fine. Before I was gonna pummel you into your grave, but I'll let you off with just a black eye."  
"W-wait!" Luca said, trying to stall him, "does that mean you've given up on winning her affections?"  
Gajeel shrugged.  
"I guess so. Too much damn work for one chick."  
"You won't tell Eucliffe and Fullbuster about this, will you?"  
"Nah. They can figure it out for themselves."  
"Can I introduce you to someone?" Gajeel lowered Luca slightly.  
"Whaddya mean?"  
"Well, I have this friend of mine and she's quite interested in you. Her name's Levy." Gajeel dropped him completely which made Luca stumble slightly.  
"Oh, the Shrimp? Yeah, sure why not." Gajeel laughed that weird laugh, and ruffled Luca's hair again.  
"You're not such sheltered bitch after all."  
Hm. Perhaps the Evil Overlord was not so evil after all.

Luca decided to unwind by taking his Bichon Frise, named Plue, out for a walk in the park. It was the time in his day where he wasn't Prince Luca nor Master Luca but just Luca. His father had also said that he needed to go to some fancy party that he had no interest in and had to find a partner to go with or else he would call for one of Luca's fiancée candidates. With this weighing heavily on his mind, he almost missed the fact that his princess was standing underneath a white oak, staring up at a grey-blue cat. She looked troubled.

"Hey Natsumi, what's up?" Natsumi described how Happy had got up the tree and now can't come down. Luca eyed the height of tree before handing the pinkette Plue's leash. Using minimal effort Luca practically flew up the tree, his experience of escaping his family's mansion serving for this purpose. His eyes softened as he watched Natsumi snuggle into the cat's fur, then gathered enough courage to ask his princess for something.

"Natsumi, I know it's rude of me to ask, but can you accompany me to this party. I really don't want my father to pick someone so…could you? Please?" Luca looked at her imploringly.  
"Will there be food?"  
"Lots!"  
"Then of course I'll go, dummy!" Natsumi laughed, making Luca feel all warm inside.  
"Okay, next Saturday. I'll pick you up at half seven. See you!" Luca took back the leash, waved, and made his way home.

Not long after, Sting came back with the ladder only to find that no one was there.

Natsumi was so beautiful that it took Luca's breath away. He had arrived at Natsumi's doorstep, the limousine waiting, and she had appeared in a simple yet flattering red Lara skater dress with a sweetheart neckline and black Converse. For some reason, this made Luca burst with pride, that she was not concerned about looking extravagant for a high-class event.

"Natsumi…you l-look s-so b-beau-" Luca tried to say the words but his face felt too hot and his heart was beating too loud. Natsumi simply giggled at his inability to communicated and gave a stunning smile.  
"Shall we go now Luca? I think the driver's waiting. Yosh! I can't wait to try the food!" All of Luca's tenseness was washed away and he laughed, offering his arm to her and the two went to the party.

It had been really busy as Luca's father was getting him to talk to all of the potential business partners and all that boring stuff. He finally found his princess by the buffet table, the brightest girl among all of them, and he led her away to the balcony which looked over the host's property. This was it. This was the moment.

"Natsumi…I have something I have to confess. She turned to face him, eyes sparkling with curiosity, the night breeze playing with her hair. _Beautiful_.

"What's wrong Luca? You have that funny look in your eyes again, you weirdo." Natsumi playfully teased and Luca couldn't help crack a smile.

"I just need to say…" he took a deep breath, trying to compose himself so he didn't choke on his words, "I like you. I really, really like you. A-and I'm just hoping that you might feel the same way. I mean, I'm not really deserving of you Natsumi but I just can't help the way you make me feel. I've never felt this way before. One word from you turns me into a stuttering mess, one smile makes my heart throb, one look makes my face burn red and I really-" Luca's torrent of words was halted by a gentle finger on his lips. He stared at his princess, with wide eyes. Her cheeks were the same colour as her hair and the smile on her face illuminated by the full moon behind her made look like a goddess of the stars.

"I like you too, stupid."

Whoosh. It was like he had been swept off his feet. This must be a dream. The girl he liked actually liked him back! He was frozen, speechless, his mind a tumbling mess. Luca was snapped out of his reverie when Natsumi stepped closer, so close that if he just bent his head slightly they would…

"I think this is the part where you kiss me." Her bluntness made him chuckle.  
"Natsumi, I'll show you why the Prince will always be better than an Overlord, Knight and Fool." He knew she wouldn't understand what he meant, but it didn't matter. Under the twinkling stars, he cupped her face in his hands and pressed his lips against hers, sweet and delicate yet longing at the same time. Absolute bliss.

* * *

 **Well then, guess who's still alive? That's right, me. Hello again my friends!  
** **Apologies if you find any mistakes, it's really late and I'm way to lazy to proofread this.  
** **Also, I know some avid romancers may find their kiss scene a bit weak, but I just felt like keeping it sweet rather than a flurry of passion and raging hormones.  
** **Anyways, thank you very much for reading the second instalment of this story - I'm really chuffed as I just looked at my story stats today and found that this one is my most popular piece, yay! :3 Hm, perhaps in the future I might think about doing more shots of this whole genderbend thing, it's quite an interesting AU to work with. I also realise that Lucy's genderbend character is a bit OOC to her normal self, but I hope you guys don't mind too much seeing as it's a genderbend AU.**

 **Hope everyone's having a great day! And any helpful reviews are appreciated *thumbs up*  
Mata aimasho!  
'Lottie-Blue **


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